


Just grab my hand (and don't ever drop it, my love)

by orphan_account



Series: Can't help falling in love (with you) [2]
Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 09:29:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5622160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takes place in the Lucky (I'm in love with my best friend) universe.</p>
<p>That time Alex got injured, and Tobin had to work really hard not to lose her shit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just grab my hand (and don't ever drop it, my love)

**Author's Note:**

> This one shot is in response to a prompt someone sent in! I hope it lives up to your expectations, friend. Have a prompt you want me to write about? Feel free to drop a comment or submit it to my tumblr: onebigroughdraft.tumblr.com. You guys are the best!

Tobin saw the whole thing clearly.

She was, after all, the one who had taken the corner kick.

And normally, Tobin doesn’t need to worry too much about Alex—she was a scorer, a dynamic player on the field—the team is used to other teams targeting Alex Morgan. But add the usual rivalry with Canada with the fact that the U.S. won the World Cup, and the outcome is a far more violent game than usual—which is really saying something.

There’s the international rivalry.

The Syd thing.

The Olympic thing. 

Which is also sort of the Alex Morgan thing, because that semi-final game is still possibly one of the greatest things Tobin has ever been a part of or witnessed (and she still gets chills when she watches the video and hears “ALEX MORGAN HAS DONE IT!”).

So yeah, the team went into the game against Canada knowing it was going to be a rough one.

International “friendly.”

…right.

Friendly.

The tone of the match was made quite clear when Tancredi had thrown an elbow in the first five minutes of the game, knocking Moe down and off the ball, and leaving Tobin and Christen to hold Kling back from going after the smirking Canadian.

Tobin knew that the game would be intense, and she was only slightly worried about the fact that this was the first time since the Olympics that they were playing Canada without Abby. 

Or Lauren.

Or Christie (who was still out of commission after the minor knee surgery).

Their calm, cool and collected leaders—they were no longer on the field with them. Carli was a great captain, and she led with more of a quiet authority, often by example.

But there was only so much Carli could do—only so many times she could appeal to the refs after each hit got seemingly harder, and when Tancredi had only received a yellow for the elbow she delivered to the back of Moe’s head, the refs had confirmed the tone of the match. Soon, the two teams were going at it, and pushing boundaries, and Tobin was becoming increasingly worried because the Canadians seemed to be targeting Alex more than usual.

Tobin had helped her fiancé up to her feet a few times already, and she could tell that the rest of their teammates were becoming just as frustrated with the lack of discipline the refs were doling out after a particularly hard push from behind had sent Alex into the barrier surrounding the field. 

Christen and Kelley had stood over the forward protectively as Alex fought to catch her breath, and Tobin could see Carli arguing with the refs, and she didn’t need to look behind her to know that Hope was equally as incensed—she had been shouting for the entire first half of the game, becoming louder with each hit the Americans took.

And then in the 58th minute with the score still tied at 0-0, the U.S. was rewarded a corner kick when Christen’s shot towards the goal had met Carmelina’s foot and ricocheted out of bounds.

Tobin waited for her team to line up in their spots, and Alex was right in the thick of things, as usual.

Putting her hand in the air, Tobin moved towards the ball and let it fly.

She watched with wide eyes as the ball began its descent, and it looked to be heading directly towards where Alex and Tancredi were fighting for position.

And then Tobin’s eyes were wide with horror as she watched Tancredi push Alex with two hands from behind.

And Alex, who had been jumping to meet the ball with her head, went flying towards the goal, colliding with Christen, who was low to the ground trying to box out Carmelina. Tobin watched as Alex’s shoulder connected with Christen’s back, before her entire body flipped over and directly into the goal post.

Tobin swears the clang as Alex’s head connected with the goal post was louder than anything in the stadium.

Her feet carried her over to where Alex was lying motionless, and she shoved people out of the way, not knowing if it was friend or foe she was barreling through. Tobin squatted quickly next to her fiancé, hands shaking as they hovered over Alex’s head, remembering in her panic that she shouldn’t touch the forward. 

But then she saw that Alex’s eyes were closed, and there was blood seeping into the grass from the side of Alex’s head.

“Alex,” she said loudly.

Nothing.

“Alex!” she said again, even louder than the first time. “Lex!”

Tobin didn’t notice the ref throwing up a red card at Tancredi as the Canadian player continued to watch the scene with indifference.

She didn’t know that Sinc was just as furious, and had immediately turned to her teammate and demanded what the hell she was thinking.

She didn’t register Kling and Julie hovering behind her, worried looks on their faces as Becky immediately beckoned for the training staff to get onto the field. 

She didn’t see Carli trying to calm down a furious Christen, while Hope rushed from the opposite goal and immediately held Kelley back as she attempted to lunge at Tancredi.

She didn’t realize their teammates on the sideline were going crazy too, with HAO physically restraining Syd from storming the field as Ashlyn shouted profanities towards the Canadian forward, Ali equally as furious standing next to the goalkeeper with her fists clenched at her side.

“Tobin?”

She looked up to see the training staff had kneeled down on the other side of the unconscious forward.

“She—she’s not waking up!” Tobin said frantically, hands still hovering over Alex’s body.

“Ok, just relax,” Scott, the lead trainer said, in what Tobin assumed was a calm voice. “We’re gonna check her out now.”

She watched as Scott took out a small light and held it up to Alex’s face. 

“Alex?” he said softly, gently pulling her eyelids up to shine the light in her eyes. “Alex, can you hear me?”

Tobin felt a hand rest on her shoulder, but didn’t turn her attention away from her unconscious fiancé in front of her to see who it was.

“Alex?”

Tobin let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding when she caught a glimpse of her favorite pair of blue eyes, Alex’s eyes fluttering open before a groan escaped the forward’s mouth.

“Tobs…?”

“I’m here, Alex,” Tobin said quickly, reaching out for Alex’s hand before pausing and looking at Scott. He nodded his head and she grabbed Alex’s hand, squeezing. “I’m right here, Lex.”

“What…where…?” Alex asked, blinking and looking around.

“Alex, your head collided with the goal. We’re going to take you to the hospital now to get a full check up done, but you most definitely have a concussion,” Scott said, gesturing to the two people behind him. He stood up and the two slid a board under Alex, strapping her in.

“You’re ok, Lex,” Tobin said, taking Alex’s hand in both of hers and bringing it to her mouth. “It’s alright.”

The trainers slid the board onto the gurney and lifted it, Tobin holding onto Alex’s hand the entire time. They walked towards the sideline as Tobin continued to reassure Alex, whose eyes were looking around frantically.

“Stay…?” Alex murmured, brows furrowing.

“I—”

“Tobin,” the midfielder heard from next to her, and turned her head to find Jill standing next to her. She looked down and saw that they had made it to the edge of the field.

“I need to be with Alex,” Tobin said firmly.

“Tobin—” Jill began.

“Stay,” they heard, and both looked down to see Alex looking back at them, eyes wide. “Finish.”

“We need to go right now,” Scott said, taking another look at the forward’s pupils and holding a wad of gauze to the side of Alex’s head.

“Stay,” Alex repeated. “Finish.”

Tobin swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. 

Of course Alex wanted her to stay. She was absolutely set on going with Alex to the hospital, but—well, she never was good at saying no to Alex. She nodded her head, leaning in closer to Alex.

“I’ll stay,” Tobin replied.

“Goal for me?” Alex asked, sending Tobin a weak smile.

Tobin gave a watery laugh, nodding her head. “Yeah, yeah I will Lex,” she said. She gave Alex a shaky smile before bending down and giving Alex a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll see you as soon as the game is over.”

Alex nodded before her eyes closed again, and Tobin took a step back as Scott took Tobin’s place, giving the midfielder a nod.

“Alex, I’m going to need you to keep your eyes open,” Scott said as he signaled for the trainers to continue their journey to the ambulance. Tobin watched as Alex was wheeled away, and she heard Scott asking questions, her fiancé answering softly. “Why don’t you tell me more about the venue you picked for the wedding? 

“Shoes are not optional,” she heard Alex say softly, and it made her smile despite the situation. 

Leave it to Alex to get Tobin to smile even in the scariest of situations.

“Can you play, Tobin?” Jill asked from beside her. “I need you focused out there.”

She took a deep breath, bouncing slightly on her toes. “I can do this,” Tobin said, nodding her head. 

Jill clapped Tobin on the back a few times, and the midfielder jogged back to where the rest of the team was huddled at their own goal.

“Is she being taken to the hospital?” Kelley asked as soon as Tobin joined the circle.

“Yeah,” Tobin said. “She definitely has a concussion. But she was unconscious for like a good thirty seconds.”

“Tobin, I’m so sorry—” Christen began, and Tobin immediately placed her hand on Christen’s arm.

“Not your fault, Chris,” Tobin said.

“Definitely not your fault,” Carli added firmly. The captain looked around at the players huddled in a circle, looking up as Sydney jogged onto the field and joined them. “Ok, listen up. We’re going to win this game. They’ve been playing dirty all night, but the best way to respond is to not let it faze you. They knock you down? Just get back up. They keep talking shit? Turn them and get the pass off. We are winning this game.”

Becky nodded her head, looking around the circle. “They’re not getting anything past us,” she said decidedly, Kling, Julie and Kelley nodding their heads in agreement.

“They won’t,” Hope said. “But even if they did, they’re not getting it past me.”

“We’ve been getting some good shots off,” Carli continued. “Let’s keep at them. One of them will find the back of the net.”

Syd nodded her head, and Tobin swears she could actually see the fire in the forward’s eyes. “Let’s do this,” she said, clapping Christen on the shoulder. “Hands in.”

Tobin put her hand on top of Syd’s, the rest of the team following. “For Alex,” Sydney said, everyone nodding their heads in agreement. “They’re not getting away with this. Work on three, ok? One, two, three.”

“WORK!” they all shouted, and jogged back to their positions as Carli headed towards the ref who was holding the ball. The rest of the Canadian team took their positions, and Tobin watched as McLeod stretched her arms, swinging them back and forth before walking slowly towards the goal line. 

Carli placed the ball on the ground, staring intently at the object. 

The whistle went off. 

Carli took her shot, and Tobin watched as McLeod dove one way and the ball went the other, hitting the back of the net and giving the U.S. the 1-0 lead.

She joined her teammates as they rushed towards Carli, all jumping and shouting.

Carli smiled, sending Tobin a wink before jogging back to midfield. 

Tobin smiled slightly, and she swears she could feel the energy on the field change. Alex’s injury sparked something within the team, and lit a fire underneath them. As Tobin took her spot, out of habit she looked in front of her for the smile Alex usually sent her before every kickoff. 

But Alex wasn’t on the field—she was at the hospital, and Tobin dug her toes into the grass as she bent her knees, getting ready.

She was going to kick some ass, and then she was going to visit her fiancé in the hospital.

* *

The final whistle blew, and Tobin immediately took off for the locker room.

They win off of a brace from Syd and a goal from Tobin in the 95th minute when a large amount of stoppage time was added because of Alex’s injury. She had felt the time winding down, and dug into the extra energy in her reserve, and the team must have sensed her urgency as well because a perfect cross from HAO, and a quick tap from Christen towards where Tobin was standing was all it took for the midfielder to send the ball into the back of the net.

She ran past her teammates celebrating their dominating 4-0 win. 

She ran past Sinc shouting to let her know about Alex.

She ran past Jill telling her they would meet her at the hospital.

She reached the locker room and chucked her boots into her bag, grabbing her jacket and sweats and jamming her feet into her shoes. 

“Tobin!” she heard behind her, and turned to see Ashlyn and Ali entering the locker room. “Heif gave me the keys to the van. Carli said the rest of the team would meet us at the hospital after they meet with Jill.”

Tobin quirked an eyebrow, pausing in her actions. She was standing at Alex’s locker, grabbing the forward’s jacket and sweatpants, throwing in Alex’s shirt (that was actually Tobin’s, she’d muse later) and shoes into her bag. “Heif just gave you the keys to the team van?” she asked skeptically.

“I asked very nicely,” Ali replied, reaching into her locker and swapping her jersey for a shirt.

Ashlyn snorted. “More like she subtly threatened.”

Tobin chuckled, turning back to her bag. She zipped it up and slung it around her shoulders, tapping her foot as Ashlyn and Ali quickly changed their shoes and threw on their warm-up suits.

“Ok, let’s hit it,” Ashlyn said as she finished tying her shoe.

Tobin nodded, and the three quickly made their way out of the locker room.

* *

“Hi, I’m looking for Alex Morgan?” Tobin asked, coming to a halt at the front desk. Ashlyn had dropped Ali and Tobin off at the entrance before looking for parking, and the two had sprinted through the doors. 

“Are you family members?” the nurse asked politely.

“She’s my fiancé,” Tobin blurted out. “She—” 

“Tobin!” she heard, and turned to see Scott walking towards her.

“Scott! How is she? Is she ok?” Tobin asked rapidly, walking towards the trainer with Ali right behind her. “Can I see her?”

“Tobin, calm down,” he said, patting her on the arm. “Alex is just fine. They just finished doing an assessment on her.” He gestured for Tobin and Ali to follow him, and the three of them walked down the hall. “Like I said before, she definitely has a concussion. They want to keep her overnight though to monitor her because she was unconscious for a short period of time. She also got some stitches in her head.”

Tobin nodded, familiar with the concussion protocol. She was worried about the overnight stay though. “Overnight?” she asked. “What are the chances that something happens?”

“Well, they just want to be certain that she’s in the clear,” Scott replied. He sighed, coming to a stop in front of a door halfway down the hall. “I’m gonna be honest with you Tobin—she hit her head pretty hard, and the concussion wasn’t from hitting her head on the ground. Her head collided with the goalpost. She’s going to be ok, but we just want to be extra careful.” He gestured to the door next to him. “She’s in here. I’ve got to go update Jill.”

Tobin thanked him and he nodded, walking back down the hall. 

“You should go in, Tobin,” Ali said. “I’ll go back to the waiting room and wait for Ashlyn so she knows where we are.”

Tobin nodded, thankful for her friend’s subtle way of giving Tobin some time alone with Alex before their teammates arrived at the hospital. She quickly turned the handle, opening the door.

“Alex,” she breathed out, relief spreading through her as she took in the sight of Alex awake, lying on a propped up hospital bed. The forward was still in her kit, boots and all. 

“Hey babe,” Alex said, giving Tobin a smile. The words seemed to spurn Tobin into action, and she rushed to Alex’s bedside, leaning over and giving her fiancé a lingering kiss.

Tobin leaned back slightly, resting her forehead against Alex’s. “You scared me,” she said. She looked around the room and spotted a chair against the wall, and quickly dragged it next to the bed before grabbing one of Alex’s hands with both of hers.

“I’m sorry,” Alex said softly, turning her head to look at Tobin. “How did the game go?”

Tobin grinned. “Won, of course. Carli made the PK from your foul. Syd scored a brace for you.” She leaned in closer and gave Alex a lingering kiss on the forward’s cheek. “I scored for you too.”

Alex’s smile widened, and she brought Tobin’s hand up to her mouth, giving it a kiss. “I knew you would,” she replied, humming slightly. Tobin heard her fiancé sigh, and she gave Alex’s hand a squeeze. “I have to stay here overnight,” Alex said, sighing again.

“I’m staying here with you,” Tobin replied.

“You should go back to the hotel,” Alex countered. “I don’t want you to have to stay the night too. It’s not comfortable here.”

“I’m staying,” Tobin repeated. 

Alex opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted with a knock on the door. “Come in,” she said.

The door swung open to reveal Ashlyn and Ali, and the two stepped into the room, closing the door softly behind them. 

“How’s it going, Lex?” Ali asked, shooting Alex a smile. 

“Fine,” Alex hummed. “Grade 2 concussion. Have to stay overnight for observation.”

“You staying here too?” Ashlyn asked, looking at Tobin.

“Yes.” “No.”

Ali and Ashlyn looked on in amusement as Tobin and Alex answered at the same time.

“Yes,” Tobin repeated. “I’m staying overnight with her.”

“Thought so,” Ashlyn said. “I ordered a pizza while I was in the parking lot to be delivered here for you.” She grinned. “You’re probably pretty hungry since you scored a goal today and all.”

Alex laughed, and Tobin turned her attention back to her fiancé, smile appearing on her face automatically at the sound of Alex’s laughter.

“We’re glad you’re ok, Lex,” Ali added. “That has to be the most physical game we’ve played against them.”

Ashlyn nodded her head. “I swear Kelley was going to swing at Tancredi,” she said. “And Syd had crazy eyes going like, the rest of the game.”

Alex let out another laugh. “Syd’s crazy eyes are scary.”

Ashlyn and Tobin nodded their heads in agreement, while Ali rolled her eyes. Another knock on the door came and they all turned to look as it swung open, revealing Kelley and Syd.

“How’s it going Al?” Kelley asked, grinning.

“Did they give you the good stuff?” Syd added.

The smile on Tobin’s face remained as she heard Alex laugh again, and she was once again struck with an overwhelming amount of love and gratefulness for the wonderful, amazing people that were their teammates.

* *

Tobin studied Alex’s face, searching for any signs of discomfort as the forward slept. After Kelley and Syd had visited, Hope and Carli had stopped by, and the rest of the team came in groups of two’s and three’s. Jill had given Tobin permission to stay with Alex for the night, informing the two that they would send the van to the hospital in the morning to bring the couple back to the hotel the team was staying.

Tobin felt like she could breath easier, satisfied that Alex was sleeping comfortably. The events of the day were just catching up to her, and she wanted nothing more than to hold onto Alex tightly through the night, just to reassure herself that Alex was fine. But she had decided to give Alex her space, worried that her fiancé would feel crowded. 

Tobin had always worried when Alex got injured. Whether it was when they were just best friends, or dating, or engaged—Tobin would always feel the same level of panic whenever Alex was seriously injured. There had only been a couple of instances—Alex was often the target of opposing teams, and Tobin was used to the fouls where Alex was sent to the ground hard. But today was the first time Alex had actually lost consciousness, and even if it was only for thirty seconds—well, there was no _even_ , because losing consciousness for any amount of time was cause for concern.

Tobin felt as if a weight had been placed on her chest, pressing down hard on her heart. During the game, she was able to suppress it, using Alex’s absence to fuel her fire. But now, it was hitting her at full force. The worry, the anxiety, the panic—Tobin had felt it all over the course of a few hours, from the time the game ended, and it hasn’t fully gone away despite proof that Alex was fine.

“Tobs?” 

Tobin jerked to attention, sitting up straight in her seat as Alex’s voice knocked her out of her reverie.

“Tobs?” Alex repeated, and Tobin leaned forward, placing her hand on top of Alex’s. 

“Yeah?” Tobin asked, clearing her throat a bit.

“Where…um…I need…”

“What is it, Al?” Tobin asked softly, leaning closer.

Alex had a sheepish look on her face, and the forward cleared her throat before fidgeting with the bottom of her shirt. “I umm…do you—I mean, did you grab my ring from my locker?”

Tobin blinked the tiredness away from her eyes, before bending down and rummaging through her bag. She found the little box that Alex always stored her ring in when she had to take it off, and opened the lid. Tobin grinned as she grabbed Alex’s left hand gently, and slid the ring onto her fiancé’s ring finger.

“Thanks,” Alex breathed out, eyes shining. “I just…I got so used to having it on? It felt weird not to for more than a few hours.”

Tobin chuckled, bringing Alex’s hand to her mouth and placing a soft kiss on top of Alex’s knuckles. “You’re such a sap,” she said, grinning.

“Shut up,” Alex mumbled. 

Tobin just laughed in response, and Alex scooted to one side of the bed before patting the spot next to her. 

Tobin shook her head.

Alex pouted. “Please?” she asked.

Tobin fought the grin on her face as she shook her head no again.

“Babe, please?” Alex asked again.

Tobin sighed, but had a smile on her face. She stood up, stretching her arms before carefully climbing onto the bed. She placed her arm lightly across Alex’s waist, resting her head on her fiancé’s shoulder. Alex hummed as Tobin dropped a soft kiss to her neck. She felt herself relax, the tension slowly seeping away as Alex’s hand came up to connect with Tobin’s. 

The weight on her chest seemed to disappear as she felt Alex place a lingering kiss on her forehead. Tobin fully relaxed back into the bed, surrounded by the warmth that always seemed to envelop her whenever Alex was around. 

“Love you, Tobs,” she heard Alex murmur quietly.

Tobin smiled again, softly rubbing circles on Alex’s hip, knowing the motion helped her fiancé fall asleep. “I love you too, Alex.”


End file.
